2 pound spools of wire for MIG

[Hollowbuilt]

Bought a two pound spool of .030 wire for a back up for the 2 pound spool that came with the welder. Ran through both of them with a half bottle of CR 25 left! Gotta go with the big spools!

[macona]

The little spools are a total waste of money. Big profit margins there.

[Roughshod]

Yeah, the little spools are a waste of time unless you just need to swap over for a very short run in a different wire size. As for myself, I run .035 on a 44 pound spool. Costs more, but I only run out every other year or so, which makes it well worth it.

[BigMike782]

2lb spools are good for a couple of things.
1)to have a size you use very seldom and not have to buy 12 or 44 lbs of it.
2)to use in a spoolgun.

2lb price is MUCH higher per lb than 12 or 44.

[ADGO_Racing]

Another use for the 2 pound spool is for Tig welding.

I have a Stainless to Carbon Steel job, it only requires small welds. I have a 2 pound spool of .035 wire for that purpose. It was significantly cheaper than 1 pound of Tig wire in that size.

[Black Forest]

The other thing about the smaller spools is if you don't weld often you don't have to worry too much about moisture causing problems with your wire.

[Hollowbuilt]

Buying more wire

So the missus goes to town, about 50 miles away. I ask her to buy an 11 pound roll of .024" wire for the 211, plus a few .024" tips. They sell her .023" wire and tell her they don't have any tips. Kid said that they sell the tips 2 dozen at a time. And they're out. Crazy. Wire, but no tips.

[gnm109]

The two-pounders are OK if you don't weld a lot and if your machine is stored in a less than perfect atmosphere. If your ten pound roll gets corroded, you will have to toss it.

[wmgeorge]

So the missus goes to town, about 50 miles away. I ask her to buy an 11 pound roll of .024" wire for the 211, plus a few .024" tips. They sell her .023" wire and tell her they don't have any tips. Kid said that they sell the tips 2 dozen at a time. And they're out. Crazy. Wire, but no tips.

Thats why I buy a lot of stuff online, tired of dealing with the idots at the LWS. Even if you had to buy 2 dozen and you don't, they are much cheaper. Sometimes even free shipping.

[reggie_obe]

If you're concerned about your large spool rusting between uses, it's simple enough to clip the wire and take the spool inside. For spoolguns, buy the larger rolls and build a winder to refill the 2lb spools from a bulk spool. Look on the Miller or Lincoln welding discussion boards for ideas.

[Chester]

2lb spools are good for a couple of things.
1)to have a size you use very seldom and not have to buy 12 or 44 lbs of it.
2)to use in a spoolgun.

3) re-wind your smaller quantities of bulk (electrical) wire on them.

[Errol]

Re-wind small spools from large spools? What would that cost you in time? You're joking, Right?

[gnm109]

Re-wind small spools from large spools? What would that cost you in time? You're joking, Right?

That would be difficult, indeed. If that wire ever gets away from you, it will be hard to get it back on the roll neatly.

As a committed HSM welder and machinist, I've found that the 2 # spools of wire work the best for me.

[BigMike782]

With a couple of homemade spool holders I have re-spooled wire from a broken spool to a good one there in saving 12lbs of wire from the trash.I have done this a couple of times......does it take time? yup,is it a waste of time?.....I don't think so.

[macona]

You need the proper laydown on the wire as it gets wound or you are in for all sorts of trouble. Anyone that has had a spool come loose on them can attest to this. You need to get it down to the nice flat layers before it will feed well.